A Study On The Issue Of War Compensation For Indonesia By Japan(1951-1958)

Japan's post-war reparations refer to the inter-state compensation Japan had made to the invaded nation as a result of the losses caused by the war by the defeated nations after World War II.Influenced by the situation at home and abroad and under the control of the United States,Japan and the 48 victors signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan.Of these,Indonesia signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan but did not approve it.On December 18,1951,Indonesia began compensation negotiations with Japan on the total amount of compensation,the method of payment and the time limit for payment.From the Indonesia's envoy delegation visited to Japan to the two sides signed the Agreement on Reparations,for6-years,the signing of the interim agreement on salvage compensation for sunk ships,Washima Eiji,the director of the Asian Bureau,visited Indonesia and Kobayashi In,the Japanese special envoy,visited to Indonesia considered as a demarcation line,the negotiations had gone through three stages.In short,the issue of compensation in Indonesia had undergone a complex process of change from its formulation to settlement,showing a long period of time,with tortuous and complicated processes.The purpose of this paper was to analyze the reasons for the long-term negotiation between the two sides objectively and subjectively.Objectively speaking,in addition to the amount of compensation proposed by the Indonesian government beyond Japan's actual ability to pay,the reparation negotiation was also affected by the internal political situation in Indonesia and the compensation negotiation processes in Myanmar and the Philippines.Subjectively,this paper pointed out that the attitude of Japan's negotiations was not positive and the compensation sense was weak.It further revealed that Japan's post-war reparations shifted from the moral act of “ The defeated countries should make compensation for the victors” into becoming a tool for Japan to “Attempt to return to Southeast Asia and carry out economic cooperation with Southeast Asia”.At the same time,through thecomparison with the compensation in Burma and the Philippines,this paper analyzed the particularity of Indonesia's compensation.In addition,this article elaborated on“what are the important impacts of the settlement of the compensation issue on Japan and the political and economic relations between Japan and Southeast Asia?”...